Improvement in the reduction of iron and other ores



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEMAN S. LUCAS, CHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE REDUCTION OF IRON AND OTHER ORES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 44.872, dated November 1, 1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,'HEMA.N S. Lucas, of Chester, in the county of Hampden, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Reduction of Ores; and I do hereby declare that the following is a description of my invention sufficientto enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

In the employment of peat in metallurgic operations it has been usual to apply it in a charred condition and as a fuel by itself, and where so employed in a reducing-furnace it has been charged in layers interstratiiied with ore.

My invention consists in the use of peat mingled with ore in a'tinely-divided or granular condition, and with or without fine coal and flux, or either of them in said condition, when the mixture is made up into lumps and dried, and in that state charged in a furnace for the purpose of reducing the ore contained in said lumps.

V In the practice of my invention I unite or intimately mix in a finely-divided or granular condition ore with uneharred peat, and form the mixture into lumps of such size and shape as to be convenient for charging the furnace, and which will allow passage in the interstices in and between them when so charged of enough air to urge and support combustion sufficiently to reduce the ore; also, when deemed desirable, I unite in the lumps, in a similar divided or granular condition, coal or flux, or either of them,in any quantity desired with the peat and ore. lhis uniting of said materials, or either of them, with the peat may be variously effected. For example, the peat in its natural state from the bog may be triturated, and in the-process said materials, or either of them, may be incorporated,and afterward the mass may be left to dry till it has only enough of moisture left therein to facilitate the molding thereof into lumps; or this condition may be more quickly secured by application of press-- are to express the superfluous moisture, which pressure may be made to mold the material into lumps, which are afterward dried by artificial means or by exposure to air and sunlight; or the peat may be first dried and then reduced to a finely-divided state, in which conditions said materials, or either of them, may be mixed therewith, and the whole mass then moistened suiiiciently to secure its adhesion in lumps when molded or pressed together.

I prefer in the practice of my invention to separate the undeeom posed fibrous material in the peat from the fine and decomposed portion thereof before mixing with the peat any of the substances named, as they have not in themselves sufficient capacity for adhesion when pressed together, and by separating the fiber from the peat it tills better the function ot'a cement to unite the parts. The objection to the use of peat for reducing iron from the ore isthat on accou -t of thephosphatcsitcontains it is apt to produce a cold-short iron. This should be guarded against by the selection of such peat as containsa minimum amount of phosphates and leaving but a small percentage of ashes. Peat also contains ammonia, and on this account may advantageously be combined with ore and coal containing sulphur, which tends to produce a red-shortiron. The ammonia, combining with thesulphnr, neutralizes it and prevents the red-short defect in the iron. By this union andintcrmixturc, as described, all the component parts of the furnace-charge are brought more intimately into contact, and the smelting operation may therefore be more advantageously carried on than when the fuel and ore are separately charged into thc furnace or when they are, in terstratiiied. The diit'erent proportions to be used of the material mentioned may be varied as circumstances and experiment may prove most conducive to the good quality otlthe metalproduced.

As an improvement. in the manufacture of iron from its ore, the use of the compound in the condition'and substantially as specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 4th day ojMay, A. D. 1864.

EEMAN' s. LUCAS.

Witnesses:

NATHL. O. SAWYER, WM. H. KELSEY. 

